Not really a question but just a statement - just how much more complicated could the Ford engineers have made the shift/steering/sliding column assemblies and then build them with rubber and plastic bushings that likely decomposed into thin air well before the 1970's were over?
I finally managed to get the upper steering shaft out of the column, withthe objective having been to replace the lower shift tube bushing and upper steering shaft bearing support. (Great parts from Bird Nest by the way). The job was made more difficult by Ford's use of 12-point bolts that also rusted into a solid hulk - after removing the left hood hinge I split the bolts using a Dremel Multi-Max and removed the flexible joint that way, replacing with grade 5 socket head bolts.
It turns out the lower bushing btw column and shift tube had long since degraded and the upper bearing support ring was like a trace of ear wax. No wonder I'm missing "Park" and the column moved up and down and all around.
I love my T-Bird, but Ford's parts and complexity were fairly dismal in the mid 60's. No wonder they eventually bought a similar company - Jaguar.
